Tholpavakoothu performance by Krishnan Kutty Pulavar Memorial Tholpavakoothu Puppet Center, Shornur /(@tholpavakoothu) đź”…

Followed by an Open Dialogue on the Artist’s Agency and Labour in Tholpavakoothu with the Tholpavakoothu Artists and Academic Resource Persons from the Dept. of English, @bharatamatacollege_

Facilitated by:

@nevin_manadan
@san._.joe
Varsha Jagadeesh

Happening on 20/01/2026 at @forplaysociety from 5.00 pm – 8.30 pm.

Tholpavakoothu is a traditional shadow puppet theatre of Kerala, performed with intricately designed leather puppets. Deeply rooted in temple rituals, the art form brings epic narratives to life through evocative storytelling, rhythmic music, and skilled performance. Once performed exclusively in temple spaces and governed by religious norms, caste, and gender conventions, Tholpavakoothu today moves across secular, commercial, and global performance contexts.

The performance self-reflexively chronicles the Tholpavakoothu artists’ journey from being exclusively ritual performers to their assertion of ownership and agency over their art. This metanarrative features distinct embedded narratives, and the performance functions as a living archive of the artists’ experiences and the dynamic cultural practice of Tholpavakoothu.

The open dialogue focuses on the changing role of artists within the ritual shadow puppetry tradition of Tholpavakoothu in Kerala. The discussion examines how this transition reshapes artistic agency, labour conditions, and questions of ownership, while also highlighting the evolving relationship between ritual arts, the state, and contemporary cultural economies.

Join us 🌸

Poster design – @deep.k.jay